Insect repellent composition



Patented May 13, 1947 INSECT REPELLEN T COMPOSITION Bernard V. Travis, Orlando, Flat, and Howard A. Jones, Washington, D. 0.; dedicated to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States No Drawing. Original application May 18, 1944,

Serial No. 536,110. tion March 21, 1947,

Divided and this applica- Serial No.736,181

.2 Claims. ((1167-22) (Granted under the act of March 3,1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described, if patented, may be manufacture and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This application is a division of our copending application for patent. Serial No. 536,110, filed May 18, 1944.

We hereby dedicate the invention herein described to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States to take effect on the granting of a patent to us.

This invention relates to an improved insect repellent composition, and-has among its objects the provision of such composition which is effective and long-lasting when applied to the skin.

Many liquid repellents are known which, when applied to the skin, will repel insects for varying lengths of time. These repellents are, however, limited in the length'of time they will protect, since they are subject to absorption by the skin and to being readily rubbed ofi.

According to this invention, it has been found that a composition comprising a liquid repellent incorporated in powdered zinc oxide gives much longer repellency to insects than would be ex pected from the amount of repellent contained in the composition. In fact, the length of time the composition wil1 protect against biting insects is actually greater than that afiorded by an amount of the liquid repellent equal to that of the whole composition. Also, this composition is not as easily rubbed oil as is a corresponding liquid preparation when used alone. It adheres to the skin well and after a short time has no oily appearance or feeling. The composition is therefore particularly useful in protecting men in movement through insect-infested areas.

The proportion found most suitable for use is approximately 1 part by weight of the liquid repellent incorporated in about 1 part by weight of the powdered zinc oxide. These amounts give a cream or paste-like composition. With most of the liquid repellents tested. the composition has excellent physical properties for application to the skin. With a few liquid repellents, there is a slight tendency toward separation of liquid on long standing. In such cases, however, the addition of a small proportion ,of calcium stearate or other metallic stearate stabilizes the composition without in any way aifecting its repellency.

The composition is preferably prepared by adding powdered zinc oxide to the liquid repellent slowly with suitable mixing. When all the zinc oxide has been added, the composition may be further mixed with a spatula on a glass plate,

, been discovered.

2 ground in a mortar, or by other suitable means made into a homogeneous mixture.

The following formulas will serve to illustrate some examples of the composition:

Formula 1 Parts by weight Dimethyl phthalate 1 Zinc oxide 1 Formula 2 Parts by weight Dimethyl phthalate 36 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol 9 Calcium stearate 3 Zinc oxide 52 Formula 3 Parts by weight p-Iso-propylphenylethyl alcohol 44 Zinc oxide 56 The above are cited merely as examples, and it is not to be inferred that other liquid repellents and other proportions cannot be used.

In Formulas 1 and 2, the insect repellent properties of the dimethyl phthalate and the 2-ethyl- 1,3-hexanedi0l are well known. However, in so far as known to the present inventors, the insect repellent properties of the p-iso-propylphenylethyl alcohol of Formula 3 have not heretofore The composition of this invention has been tested by the usual method used in testing insect repellents. This was done by applying M teaspoonful of the material to be tested to the forearm from wrist to elbow and exposing the arm to a large number of hungry mosquitoes or other biting insects. The time elapsing until the first bite was recorded. The results obtained with the three examples of our composition cited above against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles quadrimaculatus (malaria carrier) are presented in the table in comparison with simultaneous results obtained with the same liquid repellents alone.

Table Average repellent time to first bite in minutes Aedes QAnopheles uadrimaculetus Formula No. 1 631 445 Dimethyl phthalate (alone) 291 194 Formula No. 2 683 281 8 parts dimethyl phthalate 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol (alone) 317 154 ormula No. 3 361 249 p-iso-propylphenyl ethyl alcohol (alone) 316 108 The increase of repellent time afforded by the compositions of this invention is verystriking.

Even though the compositions contain only about 45 to 50 percent repellent, they afford protection against bites for repellents alone. repellent action.

This invention is not limited to the foregoing examples. A number of other liquid repellents and mixtures of repellents have been incorporated in zinc oxide in the same way with similar increases in repellent time. Among these are the ternary solution of 6 parts of dlmethyl phthalate, 2 parts of'2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol, and 2 parts of n-butyl mesityl oxide oxalate.

' Repellents which are solid or semi-solid at room temperature may alsobe employed in preparing the composition, by first dissolving them in a repellent or non-repellent liquid and then incorporating thesolution in the powdered zinc oxide.

It has also been found that compositions comprising liquid repellents incorporated in powdered calamine and mixtures of calamine and zinc oxide give increased protection against insects, but zinc oxide is preferable.

Zinc oxide alone has no insect Although the preferred composition comprises a much longer'perlod than the approximately 1 part liquid repellent to 1 part zinc oxide, very satisfactory results have also been obtained with formulas in which 1 part of liquid repellent was incorporated in 3 parts of zinc oxide and in which 3 parts of liquid repellent were incorporated in '1 part of zinc oxide. It is merely preferred that the proportions be such as to give the desired paste-like or creamy consistency to the composition.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An insect repellent composition comprising a solution of about 36 parts by weight of dimethyl phthalate and about 9 parts by weight of 2-ethyl- 1,3-hexanediol incorporated in zinc oxide in such amounts as to form a paste-like composition.

2. An insect repellent composition comprising about 36 parts by weight of dimethyl phthalate, about 9 parts by weight of 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol; about 3 parts by weight of calcium stearate, and sufllcient zinc oxide to give a paste-like compositlon.

BERNARD V. TRAVIS. HOWARD A. JONES. 

